273 Malvasia samples from ten countries and 70 wine judges from 15 countries arrived in Poreč for wine judging. The champion will be announced in the run-up to the 28^th Vinistra, which takes place in Poreč from 6 to 8 May

Another record was broken at the World of Malvasia. 273 Malvasias from ten countries arrived in Poreč: from Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Germany, USA, Portugal, Montenegro and Serbia. The judging of the best-loved Istrian grape variety is traditionally held as part of Vinistra's international wine and strong liquor judging, which received another 257 samples of wine made from different grape varieties and 35 samples of fruit brandy, which with the Malvasia grape varieties makes a total of 565 samples.

Therefore, the largest number of wine judges so far came to Poreč this year, as many as 70 of them from 15 countries. Among them are well-known world names such as Annemarie Foidl, president of the Austrian sommelier club, Thomas Costenoble, enologist and judging director of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Izabela Kaminska, Polish blogger and YouTuber with a WSET diploma, Igor Sotric, British sommelier and Decanter judge, Đurđica Katić, a sommelier from Serbia, Ivan Jug, a Croatian sommelier and the current winner of the Croatian sommelier competition.

 “I have been coming to Istria and Poreč for several years now, and I notice that the wines are getting better every year. We have just finished judging the 2020 and 2021 Malvasia wines, and I can confirm that there are some great wines among them”, concludes Caroline Gilby from Great Britain, long-term president of the Vinistra judging commission.

Nikola Benvenuti, president of Vinistra, the association of winegrowers and winemakers of Istria, confirmed that the level of quality of wine judging has been rising throughout the years.

 “We have several novelties at the judging this year. For the gold medal, it is necessary to have 90 or more points, and we have also introduced a platinum medal for all those who obtain more than 95 points. We also have the Best in Show category, which will be awarded to the best-rated Malvasia in the world. We will traditionally reveal the champions in the run-up to Vinistra, which returns to the Žatika hall in Poreč in its usual period, from 6 to 8 May”, points out Benvenuti.

Emil Perdec, a well-known sommelier and representative of Plava Laguna, Vinistra's long-time partner, pointed out that he is counting days until the beginning of the most attractive Istrian wine event and its return to the hall, because it means that our lives have finally gone back to normal. That Vinistra is a symbol of Poreč and Istria, and Malvasia is a recognizable Istrian brand, was confirmed by the Deputy Mayor of the City of Poreč, Ugo Musizzo.